51 Statistics You Need to Know: The State of SaaS Onboarding and Implementation

Cloud Coach

Nov 7 2024 10 min read

Effective onboarding is pivotal for customer retention, product adoption, and long-term satisfaction in SaaS. Here are 51 essential stats to help you understand the 2025 landscape of SaaS onboarding and implementation.

The High Stakes of SaaS onboarding

55% of customers

will stop using a product they don’t understand.

75% of users

abandon a product within the first week if they struggle during onboarding.

It takes 100 days on average

to onboard a corporate client.

90% of companies

agree their onboarding process could improve.

68% of users

report abandoning products because of poor onboarding.

89% of customers

who have a bad onboarding experience will turn to a competitor.

Increasing retention by 5%

increases profits by 25% to 95%.

Poor onboarding impacts retention, productivity, and revenue. But don’t take our word for it! Here’s why a streamlined, efficient onboarding process is essential to keep customers happy and avoid high churn rates.

Customer Retention and Revenue Impact

Increasing Retention by 2%

has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10%.

Selling to existing customers?

It’s a 60% probability! It’s only 5-20% for new prospects.

76% of customers

are more likely to stay after a positive onboarding experience.

66% of B2B customers

make no additional purchases after a poor onboarding.

It costs 5x more

to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one.

86% of customers

will remain loyal if onboarding and ongoing education are provided.

Onboarding directly affects a company’s bottom line. It sounds so simple… but satisfied customers are more likely to stay, upgrade, and even refer others, resulting in higher customer lifetime value.

Common Challenges in SaaS Onboarding

45% of projects

experience some form of scope creep.

1 in 6 projects

have a cost overrun of over 200%

Managers spend 21% of time

on project rework.

50% of project managers

spend at least one full day manually developing KPI reports.

Scope creep affects 52%

of SaaS projects, resulting in budget overruns.

$109m for every $1bn invested

in projects is spent on project management challenges.

From scope creep to rework and the challenges of automation, onboarding obstacles impact timelines, resources, and overall satisfaction. These stats highlight the primary hurdles companies face.

The Role of Customer Success and Onboarding Teams

69% of customer success teams

are responsible for onboarding but often lack the tools needed.

88% of service leaders

say customer expectations are higher than ever.

94% of customers

feel developing a powerful onboarding strategy is one of the top responsibilities of an onboarding team.

Businesses lose over $75 billion

every year due to poor customer service.

Only 13% of SMBs

use customer success software to manage onboarding.

60% of SaaS companies

use 4-6 tools to manage their onboarding process.

Customer success teams play a critical role in SaaS onboarding. However, limited tools, team support, and automation are ongoing challenges.

Improving Customer Experience Through Onboarding

58% of customers

say a personalized experience is critical.

A 2% increase in customer retention

has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10%.

80% of users

have uninstalled an app due to their lack of understanding of how to use it.

Loyal customers are worth up to 10x

as much as their initial purchase on average.

Only 37.5% of CS professionals

think customers should meet onboarding specialists.

Only 1 out of 26 unhappy

customers complain. The rest simply churn.

An optimized onboarding experience boosts customer satisfaction, loyalty, and the overall likelihood of renewal. Get it wrong? You’re likely to be counting the cost…

Metrics and Tools That Drive Onboarding Success

20% satisfaction increase

for customers in companies that tracked TTV.

84% of companies

that work to improve their customer experience reported an increase in revenue.

Revenue is up to 8% higher

in companies with a customer experience mindset.

Cost of service decrease by 20%

in companies that use customer journey maps and similar tools.

97% of people

believe video is an effective tool to welcome and educate new customers.

74% of people

have watched a video to understand how to use a new app or website.

Tracking the right metrics and using customer-focused tools makes a measurable difference. Companies are investing in metrics like Time to Value (TTV) to improve the onboarding journey.

Automation and Personalization: Key to Successful Onboarding

87% of companies

believe that companies should put more effort into delivering a consistent experience.

Up to 498 hours

annually per team member saved on average, by using project management software.

67% of companies

felt follow-ups with internal and external teams were their biggest time sink, leading to inefficiency and time wastage.

90% of people

expressed a willingness to spend more money with companies that provide personalized customer experiences.

74% of potential customers

will switch solutions if the onboarding process is complicated.

Automating onboarding can save time, improve consistency, and allow for personalization at scale—essentials for enhancing user experience.

The Importance of Getting Onboarding right

Only 21% of companies

have standardized systems like waterfall and agile in place.

61% of companies

using project management tools completed projects on time, compared to only 41% not using them.

74% of enterprise organizations

have a dedicated onboarding team.

63% of customers

factor onboarding into their purchasing decision.

62% of B2B customers

made more purchases after a positive customer experience.

First impressions really do count! Getting the initial customer engagements right can make all the difference for your organizations, leading to upsell opportunities and even valuable referrals from happy customers.

The State of SaaS Onboarding and Implementation in 2025

SaaS onboarding is no longer just a “nice to have” process but a critical factor that influences retention, revenue, and growth.

While progress has been made, there are still significant opportunities for SaaS companies to refine their onboarding strategies. In 2025, optimizing onboarding through automation, customer success involvement, and a focus on key metrics can help SaaS providers deliver more value and keep customers longer.

  1. SaaS Market Value Growth: By the end of 2024, the SaaS market is set to reach $317.55 billion, with projections indicating growth to over $1 trillion by 2032. This trend underscores the industry’s expanding role across business sectors worldwide (Vena).
  2. Productivity and Automation: Approximately 52% of SaaS buyers now prioritize solutions that enhance productivity. Furthermore, 90% of IT professionals believe that automation is crucial to managing SaaS (Vena).
  3. Retention via Value-Based Pricing: As many as 68% of SaaS providers are adjusting their pricing to meet retention goals (DemandSage).
  4. Churn Rates and Retention Pressure: The average churn rate for SaaS companies is around 5–7%, although an optimal rate is closer to 3%, underscoring the growing need for robust onboarding and retention strategies in a highly competitive SaaS landscape (DemandSage).
AUTHOR

Cloud Coach

Cloud Coach simplifies post-sales operations by unifying onboarding, professional services, and customer success into a single, Salesforce-native platform. Our solution empowers teams to deliver consistent, high-quality customer experiences, breaking down operational barriers to foster seamless collaboration and efficiency. At Cloud Coach, we enable businesses to onboard, service, and succeed—all from one platform.

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